In recent years, law enforcement has dramatically increased its efforts to combat fraud and abuse within Medicaid and Medicare.

Fraud and abuse in our home care system siphons money away from essential services, and compromises the ability of the state to provide care to those who need it most. As legislatures across the nation move to cut benefits in response to the recession, it is clear that in order to retain the level of care New Yorkers now take for granted, new resolve is needed to help combat the fraud and waste plaguing our system.

One of the key weapons in this fight is the information provided by concerned citizens -- including patients and employees of health care institutions -- who think they may have witnessed, or in some cases even participated in, fraud and abuse.

Have you witnessed fraud and abuse within our home care system?

Identifying fraud may be even easier than you think.

If you have information about fraud or abuse, please check out these helpful links that can provide you with further information about fraud and how to report it.

When reporting fraud to a government agency, you should inquire whether you are entitled to a reward under a whistleblower statute; you may also want to consider seeking a private attorney to make sure your rights are protected.

Here’s an example of how one New Yorker made $10 million by reporting Medicaid fraud.

If you have information about home care fraud or abuse, you should report it to the appropriate government agency. HomeCareCrisis.org would also like to know. Call us at 1-877 528-1504 or send a message here.

You can find out more about fraud and abuse in New York’s home care industry by checking out these recent news items.